The Short Life of Faye Sichel
by wolfxcall
Summary: Amy woke a few months after a life-changing accident with no memory of her past. After five years of peace, she is plunged into an attempted murder and is taken to trial. What happens when she finds out she's not who she thinks she is?
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hi guys! Another Phoenix Wright fanfic...this one is about a recurring character in my writing, as you'll pick up on in the chapters to come! The beginning's a little depressing, but stay with me, it gets better! Thanks for reading, as always ^_^**

The little girl walked slowly down the sidewalk. She knew her life had changed forever, but she had no idea what was still in store for her future. She kicked at a rock in the road absentmindedly and wondered where she would be living for the next eleven years of her life. She looked up at her house in the distance, where the police tape moved ominously in the slight breeze. She shivered, regretting not bringing her coat to the court procedures, but she knew she could not complain. Her aunt and uncle had trusted her to be able to walk home on her own, and she needed to do everything she could to help them. She squinted against the sun and lifted her head against the increasing wind.

In his car, Bruce frowned. The girl was finally coming up the street, but he had not expected her to be alone. He shook his head and grinned fiercely. Finally, he would be able to have his revenge on the two people who had ruined his life, by removing their precious daughter from existence. He leaned on the gas slightly, preparing his attack delicately, almost precisely. He knew that too much speed would throw the body up over the hood of his car, but too little would throw her under. He wanted everything to be perfect, the perfect revenge for the perfect failure.

The little girl looked up at the car, but ignored it. She had grown used to the strange cars in her street after her parents' deaths, and figured it to be either another reporter or a policeman. She kicked the stone again and dropped her head, the picture of innocence.

Bruce tried to calculate his trajectory again, but in a last ditch effort to convince himself, he threw caution to the wind and floored the pedal. As his car rushed the small child, he felt a final thrill as her eyes widened in shock and fear. He suddenly felt a rush of some emotion he couldn't place, but it was too late. His car collided with the child, throwing her violently through the air to come to a sickening stop in the middle of the road.

The girl lay in the gravel, feeling her lifeblood flowing from numerous injuries. She knew she was going to die, but for some reason, she felt no fear. As her vision faded into black, she heard three voices frantically shouting her name. She tried to reach up to comfort the voices, but her hand felt like lead against the cold ground. With one last sigh, she gave up fighting for her life.

This excerpt was taken from the local newspaper shortly after the accident:

Only a few days after the deaths of the well-known prosecutor and defense attorney team of Mallory and Joseph Sichel, tragedy struck their small town again. Seven year old Amy "Faye" Sichel became the prey of a hit-and-run late in the evening after her parents' killer was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. Miss Sichel was walking home from the courthouse when her neighbor noticed a suspicious looking vehicle idling outside the Sichel residence. The neighbor, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims the car suddenly sped up and knocked the victim off of the street without even pausing to help before fleeing the scene. Miss Sichel was pronounced dead at the scene by arriving paramedics, but the body was still air-lifted to a local hospital for further inspection. Miss Sichel's friends and remaining family will mourn her death for months to come.

Doctor Kelly ran into the room. He leaned against the wall to catch his breath before turning to one of the nurses.

"Is it true? Is she showing signs of life?" He gasped, refusing to wait for an answer, instead moving to examine the small figure on the table. After ten years, the child had shown no changes, before today. Now the monitors showed heightened brain activity, and her heart rate had picked up to a more normal pace.

Kelly slowly took his place in an old office chair near her bedside. "Amy? Can you hear me?" He reached forward to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes, and was shocked when a small hand reached up and stopped him. Two clear sapphire eyes blinked in the pale face before looking at the Doctor with curiosity.

"Where am I?" She asked quietly, then louder. "Who are you?"

Doctor Kelly gently pried her fingers from his wrist and smiled gently. "Welcome back, little one. You've had quite the journey, haven't you?" She still looked confused, and the good Doctor couldn't help but laugh. "You're in the Hotti Clinic, and my name is Doctor Kelly. I've been watching your recovery for the past few months."

Amy pushed herself up in the bed, not showing the slightest weakness of a patient of as long as she had been for. "I've been out for a few months? Wow, I must have been pretty badly hurt. Doctor Kelly," she said quietly, looking at him sadly, "who am I? I can't remember who I am… I can't remember anything!"

Doctor Kelly looked at her sadly. "We expected as much. You were in a very bad accident about five months ago, on your seventh birthday. We were all afraid for your life, little one." He turned in the office chair to consult his computer. "We did some background research, but we couldn't find any records of where your parents were. Because we don't know about any living relatives, as soon as you've recovered enough, you're going to be sent to the LA Academy for Orphaned and Abandoned Children, in the city. It's a high class boarding school for children like you. A representative will be coming in a few days to speak with you about the school." He looked back at Amy to see her looking out the window.

"So, I guess I don't have a name or anything?" She asked, not looking back at him.

"Your name is Amy. According to AOAC policy, you won't be told your last name until you are thirteen, or until you are adopted."

She shivered slightly and dropped her head. "It's going to be difficult, won't it?"

He shrugged, "It's all about how you handle it, I suppose."

Amy looked out at the blue sky and smiled slightly. "Then I will have to do my best."

**A/N: Hope you liked it so far! Reviews will help to make anything you didn't like better and they always make me happy to see that people are helping me to improve. Thanks so much for reading, love you guys!**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yeah, here's chapter 1...call me silly, but I wrote a couple of chapters before actually deciding to post this ^_^ Five years have passed since the last chapter, Amy's now twelve. Enjoy!**

Amy sipped her hot chocolate from her courthouse mug, flipping through the newspaper slowly. She blinked in interest when she noticed the headline detailing the debut of a new defense lawyer, and she read through the article slowly.

"Phoenix Wright… I swear I've heard that name before." She muttered. She closed her eyes to remember and was overtaken with a strong headache. She lay her head down on the table, but the headache passed and she was able to sit up again.

"You alright?" Rose asked as she walked over to the mini-fridge. She pulled her bottle of orange juice out of the fridge and shook it viciously.

"I'm good Rose, just a little dizzy." Amy replied, pushing herself back from the table. Her chair made a lot of noise as it rubbed along the tile floor, but neither of the roommates flinched.

Rose looked at her much younger friend with concern. "Are you sure? You just visited with Dr. Kelly; did he give you any new medicine?"

Her roommate laughed. "No, Rose. I'm fine, really!"

"Rose, you should know that she hasn't been given new medicine in five years! Not since she first came here, remember?" Lily added from the hallway, laughing.

Rose frowned. "I know, I was just making sure. You never know with this one."

Lily ignored her and turned to Amy. "Are you going to the courthouse today?" When she received a nod in reply, she added "Don't take too long, there's going to be a huge storm tonight, remember? I don't want you to get caught in the rain, okay?"

Amy nodded and grabbed her umbrella before dashing out the door. Lily and Rose watched her with almost sadness in their eyes.

Amy laughed to herself as she opened her umbrella against the drizzle outside. She was always fascinated by the opposite personalities of the twins who had taken her in at AOAC five years ago. Rose's dark personality was reflected by her raven hair and deep blue eyes, and her penchant for clothes on the blue-black side of the color spectrum. Lily's caring and obsessive compulsive composure could be shown through her blond haired, blue eyed self's pink wardrobe with its dashes of white, yellow, and orange. She always looked like some over decorated Easter egg, but Amy didn't care.

The twelve-year-old prodigy always thought the only thing the twins shared was their blue eyes, a trait from their father, but she knew that in a sticky situation, the two would begin to pick up each other's thoughts like it was no big deal.

Amy's pale blue umbrella began to give under the ever-increasing raindrops. The little cats and dogs seemed to be crying from the trails of the raindrops. The rain increased, and she pulled her umbrella down as she entered the courthouse.

The familiar smells of the courthouse greeted her with a sudden rush. She paused to inhale and she smiled gladly, eager to watch a trial. She couldn't quite place why she enjoyed the trials so much when other students her age claimed they were extremely boring, but she still made a small part of her day to go to the courthouse. If she wasn't watching trials, she spent her time in the library, working at the trial simulator or reading through old case files that were available to the public.

After being checked at the entrance, like she always was, Amy nodded at the guard and walked through the hallways to Courtroom 3, where the trial she was looking for was taking place. She slipped in just in time to see the two attorneys sitting across from each other and the bailiff call the court to order for the judge's entry. Amy remained standing while the judge took his seat, then she found her usual place in the second row, inside edge, and sat silently to not interfere with the court procedures.

One look at the defendant told her that Mr. Larry Butz was not guilty of anything except for a poor fashion sense, and she settled into her seat comfortably to see how the defense attorney worked. She wasn't surprised to see Mia Fey in the defense's bench; she had heard the talented attorney had finally taken on a student. Winston Payne struck one of his poses and Amy fought back a snort. She always felt highly amused at one of his trials, mostly because of the simple mistakes the poor sap always made.

The trial was short, with only one witness for the prosecution. Amy knew as soon as she had heard the first testimony that the strange newspaper salesman was guilty of something, and as the trial moved on, she made the connections seconds before Mr. Wright, and she wasn't surprised at all when they found the witness to be the true guilty party in the murder mystery.

The young brunette rose and stretched, cracking her back easily before she left the spectator's area. She checked her watch once she was outside and frowned. The storm was slated to begin around five, and it was only three thirty. After thinking for a few seconds, she decided to go to the courthouse library and run through a trial simulation. Because the simulations only took her an hour at best, she knew she would have plenty of time to beat the storm before she got back to the school for classes.

She walked with a slight bounce through the hallway when she almost got knocked over by another person when she turned the corner.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there!" She sputtered, holding up her hands to show her sincerity.

"It's quite alright, the fault is mine. I wasn't watching where I was going." The man replied eloquently.

Amy looked at the person again, and then recoiled in shock. "You're Miles Edgeworth, right?" She tilted her head to the side, now certain that it was the prosecuting prodigy. No one else in the courthouse wore the same maroon suit, or was as much of a fan of ruffles as he was.

Mr. Edgeworth looked slightly shocked. "You know me? Why are you here, little girl?"

Amy laughed. "Oh, I was just watching the Larry Butz trial, and now I'm going to library. I was just going to work on one of the trial simulations before heading home."

He blinked in confusion. "Sorry, you know my name, but I don't think I heard yours."

She pointed to herself. "I'm Amy; I live at the AOAC just down the street." She looked around him in the direction of the library. "I hate to be rude, but I really don't have a lot of time, so I wanted to start the simulation as soon as possible, y'know?"

Mr. Edgeworth laughed. "Allow me to escort you to the library. It's the least I can do for almost knocking you over. Anyway, there are a couple files I wanted to look at."

Amy blinked and nodded, at a loss for words. She had a great amount of respect for the talented prosecutor. The two turned and continued in the direction of the library.

"So why do you want to try one of the simulations? You said you didn't have a lot of time, did you realize they can take as long as an actual court procedure? That's a whole day, not a couple hours." Mr. Edgeworth asked, not unkindly.

Amy laughed again. "Oh, those? I do one almost every day; they take me about an hour at best. I don't beat around the bush like other attorneys."

"So you're saying you can complete realistic trial simulations, usually a challenge for four-year students at nearby law schools, in an hour?" He asked, trying to mask his amazement.

"Less than an hour, actually. I mean, I've been watching trials since I was seven, so I know all the tricks."

"You've been watching court trails since you were that young? That's incredible, how old are you now?"

"Twelve, so for five years? I love the trials, they're always so interesting. And they're nothing like the simulations, which are so predictable. I could watch real trials every day, but some of them are so simple, they take only a couple minutes, and are so boring! That's what got me started on the simulations, the lack of interesting trials daily. I know they usually enter past trial information into the Sims, so I can just do whatever the day's new trial is. It's pretty easy to find someone who wants to act as the opponent, and I'm cool with defending or prosecuting. I win either way."

He didn't say anything, and Amy worried that she had sounded too arrogant. "Not that I'm overconfident that I'm going to win or anything, I'm just saying that I have more experience than the others who I compete against. Honestly, it's all fun for me."

"So which are you more interested in?"

"Hmm?"

"Defending or prosecuting? Which do you want to do in the future?"

She grinned at the floor. "Oh, well, I don't know. There are pros and cons for each one, if you think about it. Defense attorneys can save innocents, but they also have to defend people who are guilty sometimes. Prosecutors can capture criminals, but they also may end up imprisoning innocents. Honestly, I want to capture criminals, but I also want to do it in a way that I know I will capture only the guilty party, not force guilty verdicts on people who aren't really guilty of anything. I guess, based on what I've said, out of everything, I may do better as a detective or something. I'm pretty good at finding facts and stuff, and I have this talent for making connections between the most random pieces of evidence."

They walked in silence for a little bit. Finally, Mr. Edgeworth broke the silence. "I was wondering." He said hesitantly. "Would you like to try to defeat a true prosecutor at a simulation? It might be good practice." He refused to look in Amy's direction, and she wondered if he was embarrassed to ask.

They had entered the library by then, and Amy pointed at her favorite simulator. "Sure, you can pick the trial. Just don't be too angry if you lose!" She grinned, taking her place and pulling the goggles over her eyes eagerly.

She always closed her eyes when first putting the goggles on, to prevent motion sickness from the sudden transfer of location. Amy opened them slowly in a courthouse environment. The selection of sides showed in front of her vision, and she pressed "Defend" without hesitation. It would be unfair to force a prosecutor to defend, and besides, Amy had always liked defending more anyway.

The case was one she hadn't worked on before, and Amy could easily determine the facts from the evidence. The victim was a waitress at a ramen shop, famous for its pork ramen special. The defendant was the victim's supervisor, and the supposed murder method was that the defendant had poisoned a bowl of ramen for a customer and the waitress had drunk it unknowingly. The reason for drinking the ramen broth was that the waitress had little income and had been stealing from the shop for years, and the manager wanted to get back at her for stealing by trying to sicken her.

The defendant was the first to testify, on Prosecutor Edgeworth's request, and he testified that he hadn't even been in the shop when the victim drank the ramen, and that he had no idea the victim had been stealing. Amy easily counter argued his claims by presenting a notice found on his desk about the broth orders versus the usage of the broth. The prosecutor objected to the necessity of the line of questioning, but she used the argument to prove that the defendant had in fact been away during the poisoning, and then went on to prove the customer had been a former significant other of the victim and had poisoned his broth and then requested that the victim taste it because he thought it had tasted funny. The deciding piece of evidence was the bowl itself, ,which had been cleaned of with a brand of silk that had only been purchased in Japan, and only a small number of people in the area had that brand of silk.

Amy pulled the goggles off her head gleefully, and glanced across the table to congratulate Mr. Edgeworth for a good prosecution, and to thank him for a good game, but he was gone. She shrugged and checked the time, quickly losing her carefree attitude when she saw it was ten minutes past five.

**A/N: Yay for child prodigies! No, but really, she's a good kid. Next chapter starts all the fun stuff, so I'll try to get it up soon! Maybe before the end of today...lol. Thanks for reading, everyone! As always, reviews are appreciated XD Love you guys!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yay for updates! Hi everyone, I'm back! Just so you know, this is post-Turnabout Sisters, so some time has passed since the previous chapter. Hope you like it!**

She dashed out of the courthouse, pulling up the hood of her jacket with one motion and opening her umbrella when she was already under the downpour. Her hair had been drenched by the time she reached her section of the apartments, and she could feel the cold dread at meeting Lily with wet hair and clothes. Classes had been canceled because of the storm, and she walked up the darkened stairs with a feeling of foreboding. Something bad had happened, she knew it, but she couldn't tell what it was.

As she reached her floor, the power was suddenly shut off, and she was plunged into darkness. She could hear other girls in the dorm screaming, but she felt her way along the wall, trying to not give in to the sudden fear she felt.

The fear magnified by about a hundred when she tripped over something on the floor. She reached behind her to feel a rounded shaft of something on the floor by her leg. She could feel the pencil tip and felt grateful that she hadn't landed on it. She crawled back to find what had tripped her, and felt something soft on the ground in front of her. The soft thing moaned, and Amy felt something wet and sticky on the floor by her hands and feet. Without warning, the lights came back on, and Amy was greeted with Rose's corpse splayed across the ground.

Choking back bile in her throat, she scrambled back across the ground to run into the wall.

"R-Rose? Rose?" She stuttered, completely lost for words.

A shrill scream pierced the night, and everything spiraled downward.

"I swear, I didn't do it!" Amy shouted, fighting against the two officers that were holding her arms behind her back. "I would never try to kill her! She's my best friend!" She struggled to pull her arms free, but they just held her tighter.

"Where's Detective Gumshoe? We need his cuffs, now!" One of the officers yelled, and Amy stopped suddenly.

"Cuffs? Officers, I think that may be a little much for such a young girl. Plus, there's no evidence yet." Prosecutor Edgeworth said quietly, walking over to the officers. Amy dropped her head in shame and he reached down to take her chin in his hand. "I find it ironic that someone of your caliber could be caught in such a sticky situation." He said coldly. He dropped her face and she clenched her teeth at him.

"I would never kill anyone. Don't you dare write me off as a criminal yet, Miles Edgeworth."

He ignored her and walked away to a detective to look at the bloodstain on the carpet. Lily was sobbing with a female officer at the window, and Amy couldn't hear what they were saying, but she knew it wasn't going to help her case.

Rose wasn't actually dead, thank goodness. She was just badly injured by the stab wound received from the sharpened pencil, which was ironically taken from Amy's desk. On top of that, they would probably find fingerprints, her fingerprints, on the weapon from when she fell and grabbed it. Amy looked up at the two officers who had held on to her since they showed up and Lily had pointed her out as the criminal, and she decided to stop fighting.

"Ummm, Officer? I get a lawyer, right?" She asked quietly, waiting patiently for them to look down at her.

"Yeah, you do. Why, is there anyone specific you want?" He asked, obviously bored.

She nodded. "Can you contact Phoenix Wright for me? I'd like for him to defend me, if it comes to that."

The officer snorted. "That newbie? Fine, if you really want, but you know he's only had two cases now, right?"

She nodded again. "That's exactly why I want him, sir."

The officer shrugged and looked at his partner in confusion. They worked together to bring her to the car, and they drove off to the precinct with no more conversation than that.

Amy looked out the window of the cop car sadly. There were so many questions she had, and she knew there were no people to ask. She remembered the night only a few weeks ago with the exact same weather as tonight, and smiled as she reminisced on the easy win over Prosecutor Edgeworth in the sim trial. She looked up in the sky to see the dark storm clouds staring down at her, and wondered if she would ever be able to see clouds like them again.

"We just want to ask you a few questions about the night of the crime, alright? You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in court, understand?" Detective Gumshoe straightened his dirty trench coat and ran a hand down his face before he continued. "Okay sir, she's all yours."

Prosecutor Edgeworth looked across the table at the small child who he had been beaten by only a month or so ago. He couldn't imagine the happy little thing doing anything like stabbing her roommate, but he knew he couldn't allow his emotions to interfere in the investigation. He leaned forward over the table to look at her, and she turned her face away sullenly.

"Amy, do you know your last name?" He asked, deciding to try to break the ice before anything else.

She shook her head once. Edgeworth sighed and leaned back. "Are you going to answer my questions?" She shook her head again. "You know it might help your case." She looked back at him silently. "I heard you're asking for Phoenix Wright?" She nodded, still refusing to speak. "You know, I used to go to school with him." Her eyes brightened. "Back when we were, oh, nine maybe?" She squinted.

"Were you guys friends?"

"Yes, we were, of sorts. We lost a friend, and we all kind of fell apart after that."

"You lost a friend? Like, he died?"

"Yes, she did." Edgeworth looked away. "Her name was Faye. She was two years younger than us, but she was in our class. She was a genius, to put it simply. She wanted to be a defense attorney, but she was hit by a car not long after her parents were killed. Their whole family was one huge tragedy."

Amy closed her eyes, trying to picture what it was like to lose so much. "I suppose that was very difficult for you?" He nodded. "I'll answer your questions now, Mr. Edgeworth." She smiled gently. "See, me and Faye, we are actually really similar."

He looked up in shock. "Whatever do you mean by that?"

"I'm two years behind too, but I get the highest scores in class, and I also want to be a defense lawyer. I lied before when I said I wasn't sure." She looked down. "I'm sorry about that."

He smiled sadly. "It's quite alright. Now then, how long have you known the victim?"

"Five years."

"And what's your relationship like?"

"We're best friends and roommates. She and Lily took me under their wing when I first moved into the orphanage."

"You were put in a room with older girls?"

"They offered to take me for a while until another kid my age showed up. After a while, we just became really close and didn't want to change anything."

"So, have you ever felt any anger towards her about anything? Or have you fought recently?"

"No, not at all. She and I get along just fine, I've never wanted to hurt her."

Edgeworth leaned back again and sighed. So far, he could find no motive.

"Did you know the murder weapon came from your desk?"

"Yes."

"We found your fingerprints all over it."

"Yes, as I already told the police, I was walking home and I tripped over her unconscious figure, and I felt the pencil when I was trying to find what I tripped over. I never used it for more than writing notes." She smiled innocently.

"Your other roommate said she saw you stabbing her sister."

"She's lying." Her eyes became cold and uncaring.

"You know what I think? I think you're both lying, and the truth is somewhere in the middle."

"Good luck finding it."

"That's what the courtroom is for, you of all people should know."

**A/N: Yeah, Edgeworth's a little...meh. I'm not too happy with how he is, but it's the best I could do...hope you guys liked it...maybe? Reviews are appreciated, as always, they can help me write better. Thanks for reading, everyone!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yay chapter 3! Can't believe it's already up, didn't take as long to write as I thought it would...probably cause it's a ton of dialogue! Not my favorite thing to write, but courtroom procedures are mostly spoken in the game, so I figured they would be here too...Enjoy! (By the way, the phone call is in bold...it's not another note from me. Just letting you guys know.)**

* * *

><p>Phoenix Wright looked around the defense lobby sadly. "I can't believe my client is twelve years old!" He exclaimed to no one in particular.<p>

"Nick, calm down! We'll be alright!" Maya replied calmly, ignoring his words.

Amy nodded at them and smiled. "Thank you both for taking my case. I am eternally grateful."

Phoenix looked at her and grimaced. She looked so small, he couldn't picture her doing anything wrong. He had agreed to take the case because she looked an awful lot like his old friend Faye, who he had lost fifteen years ago.

She looked up at him and grinned. "Mr. Wright, if you need any help at all during the trial, then you can call me up to the stand. I'll help you out." She held up her thumbs to show her confidence.

The bailiff called them into the courtroom, and they took their places in the room of judgment.

Amy seemed so small in the defendant's chair.

The judge easily took his seat, trying to be as quick as possible.

"Today's trial is of Amy of the AOAC. Are the defense and the prosecution ready?"

"The defense is ready, Your Honor." Phoenix nodded semi-confidently.

Edgeworth smirked "The prosecution has been ready for a very long time."

"Because this is not a murder trial, I hope you are both aware the consequences will not be as severe for the defendant as former trials you have both worked on."

The lawyers nodded solemnly. Amy smiled weakly, sending positive mental energy in the direction of the defense team.

"Very well, Mr. Edgeworth? Your opening statement, please."

Edgeworth nodded. Amy couldn't help but feel a stab of admiration at his complete ease and confidence. "Two nights ago, on September 8, Amy returned to the AOAC from this very courthouse at around 9 at night. Shortly after, the power went out and other residents on her floor claimed to hear a scream. When the lights came back on, Amy was found sitting next to the prone form of her roommate, Rose Thoarne. Amy was holding a sharpened pencil from her desk."

The judge blinked in shock. "It sounds like a very open and shut case. The defendant was found holding the weapon, beside the body?" He shook his head. "I can't think of any stronger evidence."

Edgeworth smirked. "Oh, but there is. The prosecution would like to call our first witness." He pointed. "This young lady's testimony will help prove, once and for all, the guilt of the defendant."

"Could you please state your name and occupation for the record?"

The girl on the stand brushed her hands down her baby blue dress and smiled weakly. "I'm Lily Thoarne. I'm a student at the Academy for Orphaned and Abandoned Children." Her eyes watered. "I'm also the twin sister of the victim."

The Judge smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure this is hard for you. I'm sorry for the pain this trial will cause you."

"Thank you, Your Honor."

Edgeworth cleared his throat. "Witness, could you please testify?"

"Yes? What about?"

"The events leading up to the attack, especially the defendant's actions of that day."

"Of course. " Her forehead crinkled slightly as she tried to remember. "Classes were cancelled that day because of the storm, so Amy decided she wanted to come here to watch a trial. She left around 9:30 in the morning and didn't return until almost 9 at night. She called around 3 to let us know where she was." She ducked her head. "Rose went out to look for her around 8:30, we were starting to get worried. I don't know where she went, but I heard her scream at 9 and went out to check. She was…and Amy…!" She looked up, tears in her eyes again.

The Judge blinked. "So, the defendant was away all day? She didn't return once?"

"Not that I know of."

He nodded. "Mr. Wright, you may cross-examine the witness."

"Thank you, Your Honor. Lily, there's just a few things I'd like to clarify with you…"

"Yes?" She blinked innocently.

"You mentioned classes…could you be more specific about those?"

She laughed slightly. "Of course, Mr. Attorney. The AOAC is an educational orphanage, a type of boarding school for kids without anywhere else to go. We stay in dorms and attend classes based on age and educational level. In a way, it's like a university for children." She flashed a dazzling smile around the room. "All classes were cancelled because of the severe thunderstorm warning that day. Amy, Rose, and I are all in later classes due to our academic level."

"I see…wait, did you just say you're all in class together?"

"Yup. Amy is two grade levels higher than her age group, and Rose and I are in the same level."

"Two levels…" The Judge sputtered. "A very bright young woman…"

"Bright, maybe, but she is still a suspect. Can we move on with the cross-examination?" Edgeworth sighed as he spoke, unsurprised by the new information. He figured as much from the girl who bested him at the trial simulator.

"Yes, of course…Lily, you said Amy came here, to the courthouse, to watch a trial. Is there anyone who can confirm that information?"

"One of the bailiffs said he was on guard when she entered the courthouse. He said 'The little girl stops by almost every time there's a big trial, so we all know her.' There's no way he was mistaken." Edgeworth tucked the sheet he had pulled out back in his organizer.

"And yet she didn't return until around 9?"

"Yes, but like I said, she had called us at 3 to tell us where she was."

"Is there any evidence to this?"

She rummaged in her little bag to pull out a pink cell phone. "My phone recorded the time of the call, and the conversation." She flipped it open and clicked a button.

"**Hello?"**

"**Lily? It's Amy, hi!"**

"**Trial's over already? That was quick."**

"**Oh, today was the second day, but yeah, it wrapped up quickly. I was right, it was White all along!"**

"**Haha, I'm proud of you. It's only about three, are you planning on hanging out for a bit?"**

"**Yeah, there's a new sim I wanna try. I think it's a remake of one of the earlier trials from this month…so I've probably already seen and solved it."**

"**Haha, okay, just be careful. Come home by 8, okay? The wind's getting really strong."**

"**I'll try. See you!"**

"**Bye."**

**Call ended, September 8, 3:02 pm**

"The prosecution would like to submit the phone as evidence." Edgeworth said quietly.

"Yes, of course." The Judge shook his head. "I think we have confirmed the whereabouts of the defendant on the day of the attack. Miss Thoarne, could you please testify about what you saw the night of the attempted murder?"

Lily nodded solemnly. "Of course, Your Honor. I didn't expect to find Amy and Rose together; I thought they would end up coming home separately. When I went out in the hallway to look for the girl who had screamed it was still dark, but the lights came back on. I saw Amy on the ground, holding a bloody weapon, and Rose, lying down in a pool of blood!"

Phoenix paled. "Lily, please calm down, being hysterical won't help the case." He looked to the Judge. "Your Honor, I'd like to begin the cross-examination." At the Judge's nod, he turned back to Lily. "Could you describe the weapon to the court?"

"Your Honor, I have the weapon right here." Edgeworth said, showing them a regular pencil. "As you can see, this is a pencil. It was taken from the defendant's desk, and is covered with her fingerprints. The blood on the tip matches that of the victim."

Mr. Wright's mouth dropped. "Covered in her…fingerprints?"

The entire courtroom erupted into conversation. "Order, order!" The Judge pounded his gavel, with no effect. "We will have a fifteen-minute recess while everyone calms down!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: *gasp* another cliffhanger...thingy. Okay, so not really, but still...Hope you guys enjoyed! I was wondering, what do you guys seriously think of this story so far? Is Amy a little _too _smart? Is everything moving too quickly? Let me know in a review and I'll try to make things a little better! (And I do always love to hear feedback on my writing, in any form ^_^) The next chapter might not be up for a week or so, school stuff...Oh, by the way, Happy Labor Day! Love you guys!**


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